My philosophy has always been that if you have a good enough rifle scope, you eliminate the need for a spotting scope.
My problem is basically, you don't point your rifle at anything you don't intend to shoot, so I can't look at people, cars (or use your imagination) in the distance without using an optic that is NOT attached to the rifle.
My realistic uses would be for hiking around, hunting, and for use as a basic spotting optic at the range. My requirements are basically it has to have a rangefinding reticle.
My friend has a Vortex Solo 8x36 R/T. My opinion of it is basically its good except that it only gives you 1 mil graduations (you have to eyeball the halves, quarters, whatever). I would also prefer higher magnification, as close to as possible as what I see through my scope (which tops out at 16x)
Vortex has another monocular called "Recon" which comes in a 15x50 flavor with the rangefinding reticle. The reticle has half mil graduations, in addition to 4 human shaped silhouettes appropriately sized for 300 400 500 and 600 meters. This is the optic that I am leaning heavily towards. It can be mounted on a tripod as a makeshift spotting scope at the range, easily carried and tucked away.
The other two optics I thought were worth considering were Leupold's tactical binoculars with Mildot or TMR (10x50) and Vortex's Viper R/t 10x50 with the same reticle as previously mentioned. Both these binoculars offer basically the same features, at basically the same price (vortex a little more expensive but I'd be willing to pay as I really like the reticle).
Now this is the real root of my conundrum... 10 magnification versus 15. I would prefer the 15, but I'm wondering would it be more advantageous to use both eyes at a lower magnification than one eye at a higher magnification?
Besides resolving detail with one eye vs. two eyes, I would get depth of field with binoculars. The binos are also, appropriately twice as large/heavy as the Recon scope.
These are basically the things that are spinning around in my head, and I'm stuck on the fence waiting for something to tip me over onto one side or the other.
My problem is basically, you don't point your rifle at anything you don't intend to shoot, so I can't look at people, cars (or use your imagination) in the distance without using an optic that is NOT attached to the rifle.
My realistic uses would be for hiking around, hunting, and for use as a basic spotting optic at the range. My requirements are basically it has to have a rangefinding reticle.
My friend has a Vortex Solo 8x36 R/T. My opinion of it is basically its good except that it only gives you 1 mil graduations (you have to eyeball the halves, quarters, whatever). I would also prefer higher magnification, as close to as possible as what I see through my scope (which tops out at 16x)
Vortex has another monocular called "Recon" which comes in a 15x50 flavor with the rangefinding reticle. The reticle has half mil graduations, in addition to 4 human shaped silhouettes appropriately sized for 300 400 500 and 600 meters. This is the optic that I am leaning heavily towards. It can be mounted on a tripod as a makeshift spotting scope at the range, easily carried and tucked away.
The other two optics I thought were worth considering were Leupold's tactical binoculars with Mildot or TMR (10x50) and Vortex's Viper R/t 10x50 with the same reticle as previously mentioned. Both these binoculars offer basically the same features, at basically the same price (vortex a little more expensive but I'd be willing to pay as I really like the reticle).
Now this is the real root of my conundrum... 10 magnification versus 15. I would prefer the 15, but I'm wondering would it be more advantageous to use both eyes at a lower magnification than one eye at a higher magnification?
Besides resolving detail with one eye vs. two eyes, I would get depth of field with binoculars. The binos are also, appropriately twice as large/heavy as the Recon scope.
These are basically the things that are spinning around in my head, and I'm stuck on the fence waiting for something to tip me over onto one side or the other.